


Goodbye

by xenomorphillic



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Kind of a Happy Ending, Kink Meme, Prompt Fill, sad fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 18:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5100515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenomorphillic/pseuds/xenomorphillic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max dies giving blood to Furiosa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> http://madmaxkink.dreamwidth.org/450.html?thread=1125314
> 
> PROMPT FILL
> 
> "Max already lost a lot of blood before joining their crew, did a lot of fighting, is probably exhausted and stressed as hell, and knows that if he gives Furiosa enough blood to keep her alive he's going to die. He does it anyway, without hesitation.
> 
> +100 if the Sisters and the Vuvalini realize what's happening halfway through and protest/try to stop him, but he tells them it's OK and that Furiosa needs and deserves it more than he ever could  
> +1000 if they hold his hands and stroke his hair and talk to him gently while he's fading in and out of consciousness  
> \+ my entire soul for the Sisters telling Furiosa what happened afterwards and an insight into how she feels about it
> 
> Basically break my heart into pieces and grind them into fine dust. You can do it anons, I have faith in you."

* * *

 

 

They were at it for about an hour; talking in Furiosa's ear trying to keep her awake. Dag held up the blood-line that connected her to Max, although she switched with Capable a few times as their arms got tired from holding them in that position.

Max didn't say much. He just watched Furiosa and the girls. He saw the love there, and knew that no matter what, this woman had to live.  He was starting to get dizzy and cold. The occasional tremor wracked his body, and it didn't go unnoticed like he wanted. The Dag stared at him for a couple of minutes before bluntly asking,

"How much blood have you given her?"

The other girls looked up at him, concern growing on their faces. Max felt a warmth grow in his chest. It was a while since someone cared about him.

"Not enough..." Was his response.

They accepted it warily, but went back to Furiosa. Max settled in beside the woman, back against the end of the truck. If he passed out, he wanted to stay upright. The old woman in the car, Nuna, the Vuvalini mother, she watched him carefully. Max wanted her scrutinizing glare off of him, but she was unrelenting. Nuna finally slid up to him and whispered into his ear.

"You keep going like this, you won't make it to the Citadel."

Max couldn't make eye contact, and instead staring at the ground.

"I know."

Her hand made its way to his shoulder, rubbing it soothingly. He leaned in to her touch.

"Max..."

It was the Dag speaking again, a while later. She was too perceptive for her own good.

"I-I think she's okay now. You can stop."

Max shook his head.

"Needs more... Won't make it."

"Yeah, and neither will you if you keep at it."

Her comment turned heads. Cheedo was the first to react, reaching over to his arm in attempt to take the needle out. He quickly covered it with his free hand.

"No."

"But... You'll die."

Her face, poor Cheedo. Her face was heartbreaking. It looked as if she would shatter like a porcelain doll if even one more person died that day.

"And she'll live."  Max motioned to Furiosa's still body.

"I could give her my blood." Capable said, crawling closer to Max.

He raised an eyebrow at her. She was wise. She would take Angharad's place.

"You a universal?"

Her eyes drifted downwards, knowing the answer she gave him would not be a good one.

"I... I don't know."

Max nodded, and let his head rest back against the truck.

"It's better this way. She'll take good care of you... make a fine leader for your people."

Cheedo crawled up to his side and hugged him in an embrace she only ever used for her sisters. Her tears dripped down onto his jacket. Dag followed her, snuggling up against them. Max smiled, draping his good arm over them both. Capable stayed with Furiosa, stroking her hair and speaking to her. Max couldn't hear what she said, but he was sure he heard his name mentioned at least once.

Toast stayed back, staring at them all. Her eyes looked puffy, like she wanted to cry but wouldn't allow herself to. He gave her a soft smile. Thirty minutes passed, and Max knew that his time was coming to an end. He could feel his heart in his chest beating quickly, trying to make up for the lost blood. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and he kept having to squeeze his eyes shut and open them again to clear his vision. Even the driver of the truck had become concerned as to his state when she looked back. Nuna let her in on the details, and she silently made her way back to her post.

Oxygen felt like it was harder and harder to come by. He tried to take deep breaths, clear his head and stay awake, but even that couldn't prevent the darkness from creeping into the edges of his vision. His chest... It _hurt_. His body wasn't in a democracy, his brain was the only one who was letting this happen. His heart was working so hard, trying to keep him alive. _This is for the greater good_ , he reminded himself over and over. Still, he couldn't help the fear that enveloped his soul.  The voices couldn't resist their input on his decision.

 

 

 

> _what are you doing?_
> 
> _you're killing us!_
> 
> _run! run away! flee!_
> 
> **_STOP IT_ **

 

 

He felt a hand on his head, fingers running through his hair. He couldn't see who was doing this, but he could feel their love. Max closed his failing eyes, leaning in to the touch. It soon became a distant sensation, along with the rest of the world.

_Goodnight, friend..._

* * *

 

 

"Cheedo..." Dag tapped her arm to get the girls attention.

Cheedo looked at her, and Dag motioned up to Max. His head lay against the smaller girls shoulder, eyes closed. He would look like he was sleeping, but he was so pale, his lips were tinted blue and the girls knew better.

"Nuna... Is he..."

The old womans fingers reached up to his neck, feeling for a pulse. Her mouth tightened.

"He's gone."

Cheedo broke down into tears, burying her head into Max's limp arm. Dag just sat there, processing the information. Nuna took Max's wrist carefully in her hands and pulled the needle out. It was useless without a beating heart to pump the blood through. She removed it from Furiosa's arm too, making sure to bind her wound.

"Stupid smeg." Toast hissed.

All eyes diverted to her.

"It was his stupid idea to come back in the first place. Tecnically, this," She motioned to everything around her, "This is all his fault."

"And what would be the better option?!" Cheedo spat back, still clinging to Max, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. "Go riding through the salt until we run out of goods? Until we all _starve_ to death?"

Toast huffed, and stormed back into the cabin of the gigahorse. She was devastated, and didn't know how to express her emotions in any other way than anger. Once she was back in the cabin of the vehicle, Toast let a tear slip from her face.

Dag and Cheedo stayed with Max's lifeless body for the remainder of the ride. When they got to the Citadel, they had to nearly pry Max's hands from Cheedo. He was so stiff, so cold. Nuna and Toast carried Max to a secluded room. Furiosa would undoubtedly want to see him when she woke, and they decided that they wanted him as preserved as possible. They didn't want Furiosa to wake up to the rotting corpse of their new friend. One of the medics they had there, undressed his top half and cleaned out his chest cavity, sewing him back up again. That act alone would give his body at least three more days before it started to rot. She cleaned the wounds and dirt from his face, from his hands.

She took off the bracelet. Handmade, most likely by him... With his tanned skin, Max retained his colour better than most corpses. His face was still a blue tinge, eyes sunken in slightly and bruised, but not a ghostly white.

Then, she left him laying on the stone table, awaiting Furiosa's approval to put him in the ground.

The Dag had already decided that she wanted to bury him at the top of the Citadel, and start a garden where he could live again. His body would flourish the crop, and not a part of him would go to waste. His grave, along with Angharad's would be side by side in the garden, watching over them. She thinks that they would approve.

* * *

 

 

Furiosa woke a day later, still weak from blood loss. She kept asking about him, and they kept deflecting. Nuna finally came in and told her the truth.

"I'm sorry, Furiosa... He didn't make it."

A voice pried in the back of her head. Her breathing quickened.

 

>  
> 
> _Max... My name is Max..._
> 
> _That's my name..._

 

"No, he was fine!" She snapped. "He was perfectly fine, where is he? Why are you **lying**!"

Some part of her knew it was true. These girls, this woman, they would never lie to her; especially about something like that. A lump formed in her throat, and her chest ached. Maybe if she could just... If she denied it again and again...

"Would you like to see him?"

Nuna's husky voice interrupted her thoughts, and she nodded. The old mother helped her to her feet, and they made their way to a different part of the Citadel. When did her eyes start leaking? _Why does this hurt so much._

There he was, laying on the stone tabletop with a thin blanket covering the lower half of his body. A ghastly 'Y' shaped incision ran the length of his chest and disappeared under the sheet. Baseball stitches held him together, preformed with the utmost love and care. Only one person would do that..

"Hey, Furi."

Her soft voice broke through the silence. Rat the caring. The kindhearted medic had sewn her friend back together.

"I think... He would want you to have this."

The small woman pushed something into Furiosa's hand. She took it, and examined it up close. Max's bracelet. She remembered. He never took the thing off.

"Thank you."

She approached his side slowly, bloodshot eyes looking over his calm face. He could be sleeping. He could be, but he wasn't. The incision nearly cutting his body in half was a good reminder for that. She stroked the side of his face with her hand, feeling every whisker, every imperfection on his flesh and trying to etch it into her memory.

_I'll **never** forget you. _

* * *

 

 

They had his and Angharad's funeral the following afternoon. He didn't have a fancy old world casket, just a sheet wrapping his body up. Furiosa lowered him into the grave herself, treating his body as if it were that of a newborn infant. So gentle, so careful. The dirt piled on top of him, and Furiosa's friend was gone. He was gone, but not forgotten.

Their graves were marked, although Angharad's was empty. Cheedo had found two beautiful stones out in the wastes, and carved their names into them. The Dag planted flowers beside the rocks. They were the first of many plants to grow.

An amaryllis for Angharad. A symbol of splendid beauty, the Keeper of seeds had told her. It was well suited. A bright orange, fiery thing that matched her personality.

_We are not things._

For Max, a blue iris. It symbolized faith, hope, wisdom and valour in the old world. A perfect match.

_Hope is a mistake_ , he said. But that wasn't entirely true. Max only had bad experiences in his life to relate this to. Death, destruction, despair. He didn't live long enough to learn the other half of hope. The part where you reunite and start anew. A fresh start with a new family where biology and marriage wouldn't be a factor. Only family, and nothing else would hurt.

Max's garden flourished, providing crops and food for the people of the wastes. The wretched no longer resembled their name. With their basic human needs filled, they became joyful and prosperous traders, excellent at finding things that were deemed useless, and turning them into something beautiful. Their art soon covered the walls of the citadel, casting shadows on the memories of Immortan Joe.

Furiosa would watch the sun set every night from her perch in Max's garden. His gravestone was close. As the sun disappeared behind the salt, she would clutch his bracelet close to her chest.

_I'll never forget you Max._

**Author's Note:**

> First thing I've posted on here. Tell me if I messed something up please. ;)
> 
> Also, I had to give the Vuvalini mother a name. Nuna is a First Nations/Native American name. 
> 
> My medic lady, Rat the Caring also made a cameo.


End file.
